Multipurpose rhythm device



E. H. W. CLAYTON MULTIPURPOSE RHYTHM DEVICE Filed June 28, 1950 w JV Everetl HM. Clay/an INVENTOR. wt-

Patented Feb. 5, 1952 U NI'TED STATES PATENT OF Fl CE 2,584,554-Mun'rlruarosa RHYTHM DEVICE Everett n. W. clams; Long; Island City, N.Y. Application June 28, 1950, Serial No. 170,860 10 Claims. (01. 81-470) The present invention relates to drummers trapsand equipment andhasover-all relation'to a' combination rhythm sounding device. Moreparticularly; I have evolved" and produced a novelly uniquecontrivancehaving coordinated simultaneously actuatable facilitiesenabling a user to beat' out rhythms thereon as an entity, or incombination with other instruments in a manner to set'the pace andrhythmical time for dancers doing rhumbas, sambas, polkas, calypsos,and'so on'and' so forth.

Novelty is predicated on a multi purpose construction which lendsitself. as an accompaniment instrument for dance bands, orchestras; forj,

small group combinations. and which "may" be played by itself tomarlr'timcd'beats-ior dances eluding a head havingflngers to beraked-against adjacent corrugations of the stated"washboard. and asimple foot pedal on the base operatively connected with and foractuating said'ymeans.

Another object of the invention is to provide a base, a standardattached to and rising vertically from the base, a horizontally disposedbow-spring attached to the upper end of. the

standard and provided on each end with a mar raccas, a hingedfoot pedalon the base and an operating connection between the pedal and spring,whereby to rhythmically flex the bow- I spring, and in so doing toagitatingly shake the two marraccascoincident with the rhythm pat ternto be executed.

A still further object of the invention is provide a time beating rhythmcontrivancewhiclr; is characterized'by the stated'ba-se and-standard;

Figure 1 is a perspective viewer amultispur 2 pose rhythmbeatingcontrivance'constructed' in accordancewiththeprinciples ofthepresent in vention.

Figure 2 is-a view in elevation, the view-being fragmentary in type, andshowing the down positions oithe'marraccas and the openpositions of the.clappers.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view with parts in section and elevation takenon the horizontal line 3'-3 of Figure 1, lookingin the direction of thearrows.

Figure 4' is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on the verticalline-4--4 of Figure 1, look-- ing in the direction of 'the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings by reference numerals and lead lines, thehorizontal base; which may be substantially triangular in top plan view,is denoted by the numeral 6. A complemental board 8 is superimposed uponthe left-hand end of the board 6. and interposed between this andthebase is ametal strip lfl'fastened'in place at 82'. The headed lowerend M of a vertical standard l6is fitted into a recess IS in the baseand. the screw-threaded portion 20 extends through the metal strip byway of a suitable opening and through an. additional opening in theboard 8. An assembling and clamping nut 22 serves to fasten the partstogether and to mount the standard centrally on the base. A sleeve '24isslidable on the standardand a coiled spring 26' surrounds the standardand bears at one end against the base and at its opposite end against acollar 28 carried by the lower end of the sleeve. The numeral 33designates a suitable foot pedal which is hinged on the base, as at. Thepedal is provided with a hook 34 joined with a link 36 which, in turn,is operatively connected with the collar 28. Thus, the

pedal is depressed to move the sleeve down against the tension of thespring 26' and the spring serves to return both the sleeve and pedajlto. their normal up positions. There is a crosshead at 38 made up of apair of complemental strip members 40 and 42 and these are suitablyfastened in place as at 44. The sleeve is provided with a stop flange46, as shown in Figure 4. A resiliently flexible bow-spring 48' havingupturned ends is secured at its intermediate portion, as at 50, on theupper end of the stand): and. A marraccas 52 or an equivalent rhythmdevice is mounted on the bow-spring. These two instrumentalities 52 areadapted to-be swung up and down to produce the desircdshaking strokes.In Figure 1, they are up andv in Fig ure 2, theyare down."

Coiled springs 5454 are operatively connected at their lower ends to theouter end portions of the cross-head 38 and have their upper endportions 56--56 connected with the outer end portions of the bow-spring48 for purposes of flexing the latter in an obvious manner.

At this time attention is directed to the complemental pair of clappers58 and 60. These may be suitably shaped boards. The main clapper 58, asshown in Figure 4, is hinged on an axle 62 which is carried by thestandard and provided with a spacing sleeve G4, a coiled spring 66 and awing nut 68. As shown in Figure 2, the smaller clapper board 60 ishingedly mounted at on the clapper board 58. Suitably bent push-pullrods 12-42 are secured respectively at their upper ends to the clappers58 and 6t and operatively connected at their lower ends to the outer endportion of the cross-head 38. These clappers are employed to produce,obviously, an after-beat. They are opened and closed by the pedal actionand the sliding of the sleeve on the standard plus the push-pull rod ?2.

At this time, attention is directed to the primary rhythm beating unitand this is denoted by the numeral 14. This type of device has come tobe known in the profession as a washboard. Actually, however, it herecomprises a pair of uprights IS-16 which are attached to and risevertically from one end portion of the base. I These uprights aresuitably grooved, and the grooves serve to accommodate a corrugatedplate or diaphragm I8. The beats are produced on the diaphragm by aunique rake-like head 80. The head comprises a plurality of spacedparallel horizontal rounds 82 having secured therebetween rightangularly disposed cylindrical blocks 84. The blocks are vibratingfingers and have slidable or wiping contact with the corrugations on thediaphragm. A suitably shaped, depending resilient arm 86 is provided andthis is secured at its lower end as shown in Figure 3 to the head 80.The upper end of the rod is attached by a collar 88 fastened on andmovable with the sleeve 24.

The unitary results obtainable in this over-all combination of companioninstrumentalities is produced by a simple hinged pedal on a single base.Therefore, as the pedal is depressed and released in customarydrummer-like fashion, the one movement serves to simultaneously operatethe various coordinated rhythm-making devices. That is to say, the rakerhead 80 sweeps up and down against the corrugations to produce a primaryrhythm pattern. At the same time, the downward movement of the pedalcauses the downwardly sliding sleeve to straighten out the bow-springand to set each marraccas 52 into motion. The up-and-down movement ofthe parts 52 permits the same to produce the desired. rhumba effect. Thecross-head on the sleeve also operates, as stated, the clappers andthese produce the after-beat.

It will be obvious from the disclosure that novelty is believed to bepresent in the main subcombinations as well as in the over-allcombination, in that a single base with a single pedal and singleupright coordinate the several devices to produce the desired individualsounds in proper progressive relationship.

-'If desired, the aforementioned bracing strap or strip I0 may beprovided, at one end, with a head plate I I and the latter may be usedto orna ment and dress up the base 6. That is to say, head plate ll maybe a name plate and thus carry suitable emblems or other insignia.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, it is believed that a clear understanding of thedevice will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A moredetailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shownand described a preferred embodiment of the invention, the same issusceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of theinvention as herein described and within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1; A rhythmicalsound-producing percussion contrivance for use bydrummers and others comprising a horizontal base, a vibratory diaphragmhaving horizontal corrugations and secured to and rising vertically fromsaid base, a vertically reciprocable head having rigid .raker fingers inwiping contact with the corrugations of said diaphragm, a foot pedalpivoted for operation on said base, and an operating connec tion betweensaid pedal and head.

2. A percussion instrument for use by drummers and others comprising ahorizontal base, a horizontally corrugated diaphragm secured to andrising vertically from said base, a vertical standard fixed on said basein close spaced parallelisni with said diaphragm, means slidably mountedon said standard having elements contacting and adapted to be raked upand down across the corrugations on said diaphragm, a foot pedalpivotally mounted on said base, and an operating connection between saidpedal and means.

3. The structure defined in claim 2, wherein said means embodies asleeve reciprocable on said standard, a coiled spring surrounding thestandard with-one end resting on the base and the other end engaging thesleeve, an arm carried by said sleeve, and a rake-like head carried bysaid arm.

4. The structure defined in claim 3, wherein said head comprises aplurality of spaced horizontal rounds and cylindrical blocks securedbetweenthe rods, said blocks constituting raking fingers and havingvibratory wiping contact with the corrugations of said diaphragm.

5. A rhythmical time beating contrivance usable as a drummers trapcomprising a base, a vertical standard attached to and rising from saidbase, a bow-spring secured midway between its ends to the upper end ofsaid standard, a marraccas mounted on each end of said spring, a foot,pedal hinged for operation on said base, and an operating connectionbetween said pedal and the opposite end portions of said bow-spring.

6. The structure defined in claim 5, wherein said operating connectionembodies a sleeve slidable on said standard, a cross-head carried bysaid sleeve, and flexible connections between the ends of the cross-headand ends of said bowspring.

7. The structure defined in claim 6, and a pair of after-beat clappersswingably mounted on said standard, and push-pull rods secured to theopposite end portions of said cross-head and the respective clappers.

8. A rhythmical time beating contrivance usable as a drummers trapcomprising a base, a vertical standard attached to and rising from saidbase, a spring-returned sleeve slidable on said standard, a cross-headcarried by said sleeve,

15 a pedal hinged on said base and operatively connected with saidsleeve to slide latter up and down, a pair of after-beat clapper boardshingedly mounted on said standard, and a pair of pushpul rods securedrespectively to the clapper boards and cross-head.

9. A rhythm device of the class shown and described comprising a base, avertically disposed corrugated plate attached to and rising from one endof the base, a standard attached to and rising vertically from the baseand disposed in paral lelism with said corrugated diaphragm, a sleevevertically reciprocable on said standard, a coiled spring surroundingthe standard and interposed between the base and one end of the sleeve,a foot pedal hingedly mounted on the base and operatively connected withsaid sleeve for moving the latter up and down, a resilient arm fastenedto and depending from said sleeve and interposed between the sleeve andcorrugated diaphragm, a head structure mounted on the lower end of saidarm and shiftable up and down in relation to the diaphragm and providedwith fingers in raking contact with the corrugations of the diaphragm, abow-spring mounted on the upper end of said standard, rhythm-producinshaker devices attached to the respective outer ends of said bow-spring,a cross-head secured to the upper end of said sleeve, operatingconnections between the end portions respectively of the cross-head andbow-spring.

10. A rhythm device of the class shown and described comprising a base,a vertically disposed corrugated plate attached to and rising from oneend of the base, a standard attached to and rising vertically from thebase and disposed in parallelism with said corrugated diaphragm, a

sleeve vertically reciprocable on said standard, a coiled springsurrounding the standard and interposed between the base and one end ofthe sleeve, a foot pedal hingedly mounted on the base and operativelyconnected with said sleeve for moving the latter up and down, aresilient arm fastened to and depending said sleeve and interposedbetween the sleeve and corrugated diaphragm, a head structure mounted onthe lower endof said arm and shiftable up and down in relation to thediaphragm and provided with fingers in raking contact with thecorrugations of diaphragm, a bow-spring mounted on the upper end of saidstandard, rhythm-producing shaker devices attached to the respectiveouter ends of said bow-spring, a cross-head secured to the upper end ofsaid sleeve, operating connections between the end portions respectivelyof the cross-head and bow-spring, a pair of opposed clappers, oneclapper hingedly mounted on said standard and the other clapper hingedlymounted on the first-named clapper, and pushpull rods secured at theirupper ends to the respective clappers and at their lower ends to theouter end portions of said cross-head.

EVERETT H. W. CLAYTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,456,242 Leedy May 22, 19232,287,183 Lively June 23, 1942 2,156,711 Watschinger et a1. May 2, 1939

